Pope Francis: The Church needs to mellow out on abortion and gay issues

Pope Francis continues to make news about the Catholic Church’s stance on gay issues….by talking about the Church shouldn’t be so judgmental about gays. In his most in-depth interview yet, the Pope expands on these social issues in the latest issue of America magazine.

But now some in the Church must wonder if the bishops will get any back up from Rome on the issue. Here’s what the Pope said in the issue of America that was released Thursday:

Pope Francis

Pope Francis waves to faithful in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (AP/Riccardo De Luca)

“A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing.”

Later, the pontiff said:
“We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”

The Human Rights Campaign, one of the leading LGBT organizations, weighed in with an “Amen.”

“With these latest comments, Pope Francis has pressed the reset button on the Roman Catholic Church’s treatment of LGBT people, rolling back a years-long campaign at the highest levels of the Church to oppose any measure of dignity or equality” said HRC pres and former Californiana Chad Griffin. “Now, it’s time for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to catch up and drop their opposition to even the most basic protections for LGBT people. Otherwise, they risk being left far behind by American Catholics and this remarkable Pope.”

We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.

The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.